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Gerald II Emrestrun
Gerald II Emrestrun was the twelfth monarch of Daravia, and the first from the Emrestrun family. He was best known for his implementation of a Daravian parliament and his voyages to Rubinau. Early life Gerald was born to Bertram Emrestrun, the oldest brother of Quenton III's wife Pamela, in 164 DR. As a kinsman of the former king's wife, Gerald was in the upper nobility for much of his life, and he put forth a very calm public face to mask his more coldly pragmatic nature. During the Great Alarean War Gerald had been too young to fight, so he witnessed Steppen II's power grabs, and when the revolts against Steppen started Gerald carefully crafted his image to appear as the best possible successor to the brutal king. His efforts were not in vain, and Gerald was quickly a favorite among the various rebel factions; he did not openly join any, however, leaving himself open to join whichever would suit his needs best. In the end, Gerald chose the Manitac Uprising in 190, and was appointed to succeed Steppen once Steppen was assassinated later that year. Reign Gerald wanted to quickly appeal to the public, so he sent out some undercover knights to discern public opinion. A parliamentarian movement was discovered among the well-educated, who had heard of parliaments thriving in Rhen and Hecrivast, and to follow their example Gerald implemented a parliament in Daravia in 192. The parliamentarians elected Helman Groughs as the first Council Premier, and Gerald repurposed his undercover knights into a spy network. Gerald spent the first part of his reign working with the parliament to codify laws that guaranteed rights to all classes, and once he felt the peasants were sufficiently fond of him, decided to set about expanding the territory of his nation. Based on the recently recovered blueprints of Dorio's Edric the Sailor, Gerald had several oceangoing ships built to explore the northern seas. Although at first inconclusive, Gerald and his men finally discovered Rubinau in 215. Over the following years Gerald had a small Daravian town built on the Rubinai shore. During the Belthion Succession War, Gerald was worried about violence spreading to Daravia, himself being a ruler from a new dynasty. He fortified the borders and did not allow Dorians into Daravia, a decision unpopular with Dorio, although it was successful in sustaining Daravian peace. In 232, Gerald was beginning to fall ill, but he insisted on making another voyage to Rubinau. He died on the ship, and a lifeboat was sent back to Castleton with Gerald's body. Personal life Although Gerald was of prime marriage age during the years of the revolts against Steppen, he didn't want to force himself into an alliance until he had decided; however, upon his accession in 190, Gerald decided to marry Jean Bedvering, a noblewoman whose family had been in the Manitac Uprising. Although Gerald had both sons and daughters, he decided to adopt absolute primogeniture, being of the opinion that Geraldine and Laurel had been good monarchs; therefore he was succeeded by his daughter, Laurel II. Category:Daravians Category:Emrestrun Family Category:Monarchs